Posted by Rick Denney on February 05, 2004 at 18:50:10:
In Reply to: Re: B&S History posted by A ? for you... on February 04, 2004 at 16:35:59:
The fifth-valve slide fits inside the inner tubing on the first-valve slide, so not only is it smaller, but it's smaller by greater than the thickness of the brass.
That was the only test I had time for. I'm having too much fun playing it right now to attack it with calipers.
By the way, I'm kinda resisting the notion that this is a small F tuba. It's a big F tuba by any measure except the first-valve slide, which is as big (or very nearly so) as the first three valves at least on, say, a Conn 5xJ or a Getzen G-50. In outer branches and bell size, it's as big as most orchestral F's currently on the market. And though the sound is more characteristically F-tuba-like to my thinking, it isn't any less loud or projecting than the sound from F's with a more C-like sound.
Rick "who already has a small F tuba" Denney
Rick "who can see the tapers on the ferrules between the valves" Denney